Le Petit Alep

great food in bustling ambiance that felt "hip"(?). make sure u get a reservation even for lunch.

We took the dégustation option, so our waiter recommended us some plates. It was a great way to get to taste many things that we would normally not chose. The two that stood out are the Foule Moudamas (meat in a lemon olive oil garlic sauce) and Chiche Kabab Terbialy.
I do not recommend the Kébbé Nayé.

Went recently after years of not having been but with fond memories. My parents & I were seated on the bar side, and the vibe had completely changed. I was disappointed, it felt like they were catering to their Quebecois clientele and no longer authentic. Not sure if the establishment was sold but trust me, there are WAY better Syrian restaurants in Montreal.

I ordered 5 appetizers and 3 mains for 3 people (figured we'd have leftovers). They brought out the world's smallest hummus, muhammara, moussaka and baba ghanouj. I also ordered the arayess kafta (it was very confusing with the cheese), and for mains, we each ordered a type of grilled meat. Portions were very small - which makes sense considering the price. Unfortunately, we will not be returning.

We were not at all impressed with the food. I've tasted better in the area. I don't believe it's worth the price. I would not recommend it. What makes it nice is being able to sit outside.

OMG. What did we eat? There was so much food!

Never having had Syrian food before, we asked for recommendations from our excellent server and he tagged in the Sommelier for wine suggestions. They were so great with food restrictions too.

We had soup, dips, pita, chicken, shrimp, beef, romaine hearts. The standouts for me were the garlic lab which on the romaine and then I snuck some sweet and spicy shrimp on top. I have no idea what wine I had - all I know was that at the first sip I wasn't sure until I was sure. So good.

We were not rushed. A great night with our table against the wall between the inside and the patio.

I love Le Petit Alep. The shish kebab terbialy is spectacular. Their fries are addictive. The muhammara and hummus taste fresh and homemade. I only wish they delivered.

We didn't know what to eat and the snow was clearly making it difficult for us to walk somewhere else so we came in this restaurant and had a GREAT time. The food is great, not expensive and the service is really good. The food was tasty and we could not be happier.
We ordered the Pita Grillé (Falafel) and we were amazed by the size and flavor.

My parents in law told have told me several times how they love Petit Alep and since I was in the Jean-Talon area I decided to finally give it a try!

We ordered the Sabanegh mezze and the fattouche to start and the chiche kabab and the baked lamb as mains. Everything was delicious but the baked lamb dish was my favourite. The spices and the chopped almonds really made the dish.

Prices were very reasonable and service was quick and attentive.

Special mention about the service:
My mom is celiac and the waiter and kitchen were so attentive. The waiter was new and he triple checked with the kitchen that she could eat certain dishes. We wanted to order the eggplant mezze but finally the kitchen mentioned that their may be cross-contamination so he suggested the spinach dip (sagheia). They made sure to put all the pita breads and on the side and made us a special rice without vermicelli. Exceptional service!

La Petit Alep is another restaurant that I've known about for ages but for some reason, I've never been. They're sister restaurant to next door neighbour Restaurant Alep but at a much more reachable price point. After trying to eat first at Trilogie but failing (they were randomly closed for a three day family vacation), we were trying to think of somewhere nearby to salvage our Tuesday lunch plans. LPA to the rescue.

Hours are great. Closed Sunday and Monday but every other day is 11:00am-11:00pm. A perfect spot to drop by before or after some JTM shopping.

The inside is very eclectic. Love the use of bright colours and dark wood here. The place was packed for a Tuesday afternoon. Everyone was outside sitting on the terrace and basking in the sun. We got the next best thing - a table within reach of the terrace so we could at least feel the breeze.

If you've never been to La Petit Alep, it's a mixture of Syrian and Armenian cuisine.

The menu has a huge selection: sandwich and plates options, soups, mezza, cheese plates, salads, grilled pitas and extras. On the back, desserts and your choice of juices, coffes and teas. I had to leave early but the fam jam got to try dessert!

- Metabal ($3.50 mini) - grilled eggplant purée, tahini and garlic. Comes with a bag of mini pitas. So incredibly fresh and vibrant flavour.
- Mouhamara ($3.75 mini) - bread crumbs, pomegranate molasse and walnuts. Never had mouhamara before but it reminded me of a blend between roasted red pepper hummus and tomato paste.
- Sabanegh ($4.25 mini) - spinach, coriander, onion and spices. I'd eat spinach like this everyday if someone was making it this good!

Love how they have the mini option available for all their mezzas. Perfect way to sample and share.

- Fattouche ($12.00 large) - romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, grilled pita and garlic. This was light, refreshing and citrusy. Honestly, I feel like I'm eating so healthy every time we order fattouche. Great crunch from the grilled pita.

- Falafel grilled pita ($8.50) - tahini and herbs. I wasn't expecting the falafel pita to be flat and stuffed inside like a pita sandwich. A nice change of pace from your usual falafelness.

- Aleppo sausages platter ($12.75) - beef sausages with pine nuts. The sausage was a bit on the chewier side but grab two pieces of the pita and make it into a make do sandwich. The accompanying side salad is pretty plain. We added the leftovers to the fattouche.

- Baked lamb platter ($16.25) - marinated baked lamb, rice and nuts. Lamb was moist, tender and flavourful. Love the use of nuts to give a bit of crunch to the dish.

Happy I finally was able to try La Petit Alep. If you're looking for somewhere light and healthy to eat, this is it.

We visited Le Petit Alep last night for the first time. We had checked it out the day before and noticed there were lots of people waiting at 8pm, so we thought we'd beat the crowds and get there by 6:15. Luckily we did, as we noticed people were already starting to wait for tables at the bar by 6:45.

We were seated right away and brought menus and a bottle of cold water. After about 5 minutes or so, a waitress came by to ask if we'd like drinks. We mentioned we would like a bottle of wine, so she said she'd have the sommelier come over. That seemed a little strange to us for such a casual restaurant. The sommelier arrived about 5 minutes later and suggested a few wines to us. We ordered and he brought our wine within a few minutes. He poured it for us and returned to top up our glasses a couple of times during our meal.

We waited for about 10 more minutes before our waitress reappeared to take our orders. We ordered the Aleppo cheese plate to start and 3 main dishes. We noticed that all tables were given a small basket with a bag or two of mini pitas. It seemed strange that the pitas were served in plastic bags, but I guess that's so that they won't dry out.

Our cheese plate arrived garnished with some fresh arugula. There were 8 slices of Aleppo cheese, drizzle with a little olive oil and what looked and tasted like a sprinkling of za'atar. It was quite tasty, but I felt it could have used a little something else (maybe olives?).

Our main dishes arrived a few minutes after we finished the cheese plate. We had one Chiche Kebab plate which had filet mignon with onions, topped with grilled pieces of pita bread, green salad and a rice/vermicelli combo. It was very tasty and the steak pieces were rare as requested.

We also ordered the Baked Lamb plate which had baked lamb in a sauce with pine nuts, rice and green salad. The lamb was quite tasty and moist.

The final dish was Poutine D'Alep. This tasted exactly the same as the baked lamb dish, but it was served atop french fries which had the same sauce as the baked lamb and was also topped with aleppo cheese. It tasted just as good as the other lamb dish, but it really could have used a fresh element such as a salad as it was very heavy.

The waitress came by a few times during our meal and was very friendly, as were the other wait staff we encountered.

The prices were fairly good. Our bill was around $85 before tax and tip.

All in all it was quite a nice meal. If we were in the area for more than a week, we may return to try other dishes.